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Apple TV's upcoming For All Mankind spinoff Star City oozes Cold War-era paranoia

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Why This Matters

Apple TV's new spinoff Star City offers a fresh perspective on the Cold War-era space race, focusing on the Soviet side and exploring themes of paranoia and espionage. This shift in narrative and setting highlights the evolving landscape of sci-fi storytelling and the importance of diverse historical viewpoints in entertainment. For consumers and the industry alike, it underscores the value of innovative spin-offs that deepen franchise universes while appealing to new audiences.

Key Takeaways

Apple TV just dropped a real-deal trailer for Star City, after releasing a short teaser earlier this year . It's a spinoff of For All Mankind, but this new show examines the alt-history space race from the Soviet perspective.

In other words, this is a trailer steeped in Cold War-era paranoia. Secret photos are snapped, phones are tapped and characters are disappeared, all set against the backdrop of space exploration. The vibe looks decidedly different from For All Mankind, despite the parent show occasionally dabbling in Russia-based espionage.

The vibe isn't the only shift here. Star City isn't doing time jumps, which is a hallmark of For All Mankind. The original show started in 1969 and season five is set in 2012 . The spinoff "lives in the 1970s" and is "its own genre." This is according to showrunners Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi .

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For the uninitiated, For All Mankind begins with Russia beating us to the Moon in the 1960s. This creates a butterfly effect that changes history in ways both big and small. Star City looks like it'll focus on how Russia managed to land astronauts on the Moon before America and what happened to the space program in the immediate aftermath. It stars Rhys Ifans, Anna Maxwell Martin, Agnes O’Casey and Alice Englert.

Star City premieres on May 29 with two episodes. That's the same day season five of For All Mankind concludes. The original show was recently renewed for a sixth and final season .